Azure Blue, the celebrated solo project of Tobias Isaksson, captured the hearts of music lovers around the world with the debut album ‘Rule Of Thirds’ and promotional tour covering ten countries in the past two years.

Tobias is a talented and renowned pop figure, having taken his initial success in Scandinavia with Irene and Laurel Music (both Labrador Records) worldwide. He is also a popular DJ in Sweden and internationally with merits including David Lynch's Silencio in Paris and Bi Nuu during Berlin Music Week.

‘Rule of Thirds’ received astounding critical praise, winning a Swedish independent grammy—the Manifest award—for best pop album in 2012 and enjoying exposure on both Swedish national TV and Spanish national radio. Among the outstanding reviews for the album, The Line Of Best Fit (UK) called it “nostalgia fuelled pop harking back to the heyday of Factory Records,” while Blurt Magazine (USA) named it “the best electro-pop record in recent memory."

Azure Blue toured extensively on the back of the success of the debut, across Europe in 2012 and taking in a live North American debut at the New York City Popfest in June of this year. Endorsements from other artists include Erlend Øye (Kings Of Convenience), The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (who invited Azure Blue on tour across Europe), The Sound Of Arrows, and The Drums, among others.

The sophomore Azure Blue album ‘Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt’ builds on the tremendous success of the debut album with highly personal and deeply romantic songwriting bathed in especially polished production.

Lead single ‘The Road I Know’ has been described as “a cacophony of vintage synthesizers battling for attention over a bed of whiplash electronic drums, all toned down by Tobias Isaksson’s romantic, softly delivered vocals.” The song is incredibly melodic and majestic all at once and recalls the magnificence of the Pet Shop Boys or New Order at their very best.

Among many album highlights, opening track ‘Time Is On Our Side’ showcases Tobias’ elegant, warm vocals set to ambitiously sweeping instrumentation, while ‘Willows and Pines’ displays a downbeat splendor of captivating electronica and ‘Sunset’ is a hypnotic and especially ebullient masterpiece that sparkles in all the right places.

Azure Blue perfectly documents a romantic searcher struggling to remain a modern gentleman in the ever changing world of pop culture, and ‘Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt’ is another intelligent, rich, and timeless record for the masses.

reviews

Tobias Isaksson’s bold foray into overtly romantic synth pop comes into full fruition this week with the release of his second full length under the Azure Blue moniker. Like the soundtrack to a fantasy movie that’s never been made, Beyond The Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt is a record filled with unabashed wonder, pastel coloured hues and heart flipping melodies. Oh, and synthesisers. A lot of synthesisers. As a reference point: it’s the exact record that fellow Stockholm group The Sound Of Arrows could have made if they’d only steered clear of major label temptation and production values. As the wistful opener ‘Time Is On Our Side’ bursts into the tear inducing epic ‘The Road I Know’, the pace of the record continues through a lustrous sea of texture and emotion that’s delivered with incredible panache. If there was ever a remake of The Never Ending Story on the cards, its score has already been written. --The Line of Best Fit

The second Azure Blue album 'Beyond The Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt' is ten tracks of polished pure sentimental indie pop. The track 'Time is On Our Side' summons up the ghosts of summers past and forgotten dreams of childhood, possibly even the smell and taste of your first boyfriend/girlfriend. Majestically warm and simultaneously aloof like 'Behaviour' by Pet Shop Boys, this is powerfully emotive indie electro pop.
--Deadly Music

Tobias Isaksson is a fan of a good party. After having made upbeat slop pop with his previous band Irene, and scaled-back folk as part of Laurel Music, he's been around the block a few times—able to laugh about things like entourages and riders. (Memo to booking agents: he loves a dry white wine.) Now writing and performing as Azure Blue, Isaksson is still quick to crack a joke. But his music has taken a more solemn turn, full of whispery electronic odes to love and the heartache that follows. His second album under the moniker, Beyond the Dreams There's Infinite Doubt, continues the melancholic, New Order-for-dreamers vibe; Isaksson weaves together a synth- and drum-machine-fueled, slow-motion disco.
--Interview Magazine

First things first: no one should be covering Sade's "By Your Side" ever again. Her version was perfect enough, then Beachwood Sparks' reinterpretation made it indie perfect. The Swedish indie poppers Azure Blue should have put the notion that a majestic synth pop take on the song would sound good back in the box of bad ideas from which it came. Mores the pity because the rest of their second album, 2013's Beyond the Dreams There's Infinite Doubt, is a synthy, poppy delight that needs no excuses. Tobias Isaksson, who was in the bands Laurel Music and Irene, clearly has a handle on how to construct simple, very hooky songs, then coat them in the finest post-New Order synthesizers for maximum impact. The album has the feel of a lost gem from a really good second-tier band from the mid-'80s that never got a break but was just as good as the bands that did make it. Sort of the same phenomenon his previous bands suffered from, since they never really hit either. Probably the same fate this band and record will suffer, which is too bad because Beyond the Dreams is just as good as any synth pop going in 2013. It might be a little too sunny to be taken seriously by the gloom-and-doom set, and songs like the sweetly romantic "Sunset" and the fluffy "Time Is on Our Side" are probably way too happy for the average synth pop fan. Indie pop fans who aren't averse to an absence of guitars should give the album a try though; the melodies and Isaksson's vocals are perfectly pop and the overall light tone makes the album very easy to embrace. Just make sure you skip over "By Your Side." --All Music Guide

If you haven't been sizing up the singles leading up to the release of Azure Blue's sophomore album, 'Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt,' then you're in for a real treat. The third song was just revealed the other day, and "Sunset" is another in a line of lovely synth-pop gems that dazzle like something from Factory Records' salad days. Azure Blue is the solo project of a talented Swede named Tobias Isaksson. He's on the roster of the brilliant Matinée Recordings here in America, but I dug up this older description of the band name and his music from the site of his European label. "[Azure Blue] is a paraphrase of Dennis Wilson's 'Pacific Ocean Blue.' Tobias says: 'It's Wilson's honest look with the epic beard and the ocean blue mood itself that has inspired me. Along with other male storytellers like Ernest Hemingway, Klas Östergren and Grant McLennan. I wanted to make a mature AOR record but ended up flirting with new wave and new romantic as well.'" With namedropping like that, you know you're in good hands. Bliss. --Linear Tracking Lives

I have been known to like a little synth with my pop, and there's no doubt Swede Tobias Isaksson feels the same way. In another time Azure Blue would have fit right in with Factory's stable of stars. --Linear Tracking Lives (Favorite Albums of 2013)

Not to be confused with the Scottish band Deacon Blue, the popular boy band Blue or the white nationalist teen-pop due Prussian Blue, Azure Blue is an electro-pop project by Swedish musician Tobias Isakkson. Like a clear summer sky or a particularly satisfying Dulux colour, it’s easy to get lost in. --Time Out London

With Azure Blue, former Irene and Laurel Music songwriter Tobias Isaksson creates a melange of '80s synthpop textures and '90s shoegaze vocals mixed with that wall of sound, perfected by pop music back in the '60s. Yet, this music sounds utterly contemporary. Azure Blue’s debut album, Rule of Thirds, received many critical accolades back in 2011 with the culmination being a win for best pop album in the Swedish version of the Grammys last year. Now Isaksson returns with his sophomore album under the Azure moniker, the philosophically titled Beyond the Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt. Matinée Records will release the album next week in the US. --PopMatters

Swedish musician/producer Tobias Isaksson (the man behind the name Azure Blue) has a bit of a problem. Take a couple of songs off his first album and you'd have a really quite good combination of synth-pop and indiepop. Look at debut 'Rule Of Thirds'; if you removed say, 'The Catcher In The Rye' and maybe 'Little Confusions', it would be a wonderful record. The problem isn't that these songs let the side down, it's the total opposite. 'The Catcher In The Rye' grows on you, in fact it probably grows in you; it becomes a part of you. If you want alternative, credible pop music then it doesn't come any better. All those other fine tracks on the album pale slightly by comparison. It's an odd situation, a bit like everyone watching Barcelona because Messi is playing, and forgetting that the rest of the team are some of the best footballers of our generation. So Azure Blue has two problems to tend to with second long-player 'Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt'. Most importantly, he has to conjure up another collection of songs that, like the first album, are the kind of pop music that The Sound Of Arrows promised to deliver early on before heading for commercial places, much to their detriment. The first singles from the new record were 'The Road I Know' and 'Willows And Pines', both of which belong in the same magical land as 'The Catcher In The Rye', particularly the former. Rarely does synth-pop meet with indiepop to such stunning effect. The man's pulled off the trick again; these are classics. It's this double-barrel of dreamy bliss that kicks off 'Beyond The Dreams...' and it feels like being in a wonderland: pure escapism with added melody. It's the same problem again; how on Earth do you keep that up for ten tracks? The simple answer is that you can't, but Tobias Isaksson gives it a darn good shot here, improving on the (very good) debut. The singles are followed by the interlude of 'Sunrise' and then more high quality tunes in the pensive, floaty 'When The Love Is Pure And True'. "Ethereal" is one of the most cringeworthy words used in music reviews, but rarely is it more fitting than in these songs. Recent single 'Sunset' seems nice at first but grows with each listen, until it's virtually on a par with the alchemy of the aforementioned tracks. 'The Bitter End' is more potential single material and 'By Your Side' is beautiful, almost having the same sentiment (but not sound) as classic soul tracks in the vein of 'Stand By Me'; a powerful statement of unity and dedication to someone. 'Do Not Go Gentle' ignores its own advice and is an swoonsome ambient instrumental, as is 'Beyond The Dreams'. Bowing out with more pristine pop, 'Time Is On Our Side' ensures the album ends with a certain majesty. Azure Blue has gone one better this time around and crafted an enchanting listen start to finish. Still, there is the odd song that is simply a cut above. You can bet your life that if a Greatest Hits album arrives in a few years it will be an essential purchase, and that's not to say this release isn't already. --Sounds XP

At its best, synth pop is emotionally satisfying music. It lifts the listener's spirits, extends horizons and makes the world seem a bit brighter. And Beyond the Dreams There's Infinite Doubt from Azure Blue is synth pop at its best. Vintage synths and driving drum machines form a platform for Tobias Isaksson's soft vocals. The synths are layered tastefully for maximum emotional impact, providing the background and emphasizing the melody. And at the end of the day, the success of synth pop comes down to the melodies, and on that score Beyond the Dreams There's Infinite Doubt excels from start to finish. There is a nostalgia-inducing similarity to the Pet Shop Boys and New Order, although in Isaksson's hands the result feels more atmospheric and romantic. This is one of those albums that present a challenge when trying to pick representative tracks. I picked out five candidates, and played them over and over, reluctant to reject any of them. I finally settled on the following three: The more restrained "Willow and Pines"; the captivating and sparkling "Sunset"; and standout track "The Road I Know". --When You Motor Away

Azure Blue is the solo project of already successful Tobias Isaksson, who is hailed internationally for his work with Swedish bands, Irene and Laurel Music. Also a popular DJ in Sweden, Isaksson has made his name well known all over Scandinavia, which is probably why you’re asking yourself who exactly is this guy and why he matters to you, since his fame hasn’t really made it to the States yet. The answer is simple: Beyond The Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt is a new wave record that deserves some attention. Though some of you may have heard some Azure Blue through the debut album, Rule of Thirds, for most this is probably your first encounter with its new wave, electronic style. “Time Is On Our Side” opens up the journey through the dreamy electro pop on a bold note, with the line, “I only wanted something real,” that seems to embark upon a story of a romantic nature; the declaration so earnest and sincere it begs you to connect to it. Meanwhile the music is a constantly swirling mix of battling synthesizers and soft percussion that you would expect of something that belongs in the new wave genre. At just under five minutes in length, this opening track gives you a basic idea of what this album has in store for you, but Azure Blue is only just beginning. Immediately after this opening warm up track, the energy level gets turned up on “The Road I Know,” and from there they refuse to look back. The synthesizers are now more than droning waves of sound, but active parts of the mix, evoking the melody of the song right alongside Isaksson and some higher pitched vocals that pair nicely with his deep-set voice. Together, they create a lovely choral, dreamlike, arc to the song. Their vocals are smothered in reverb, which culminates with the chalky percussion so that the meandering synth riffs really stick out to give the song some harder edges. It ends slowly, with each layered element gradually fading away from the mix, and creating a solid song with a beginning, middle and end; six minutes flies by without you ever feeling slightly bored.
--Austin Town Hall

Sweden’s Azure Blue has released a brand new record, a younger sibling to 2011′s critically acclaimed (not to mention award-winning!) debut album Rule of Thirds. Stockholm’s Tobias Isaksson’s second effort is entitled Beyond The Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt, and deals with “moving to the loneliest neighbourhood in the suburb, blurred and broken nights in the city and a pursuit of inner peace that is long gone”. It’s an altogether darker affair than Isaksson’s debut, but retains the melodic fortitude, the hypnotic hooks and reverb-laden delicacy that we’ve come to love from the Swedish artist. --JaJaJa Music

The Swedish Independent Grammy Winner Azure Blue is about to release his sophomore album to masses. And a week before he drops it, we get to hear its entirety. His album Beyond The Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt catches the producer and songwriter heading into dreamier territory than his first outing. We’ve already sampled the likes of “The Road I Know,” “Willows And Pines,” and “Sunset.” The whole album has a naturalistic theme running through its veins. Azure Blue’s sophomore album will be officially released on October 8, 2013 via Matinée Records. --Prefix

Beyond the Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt is the title of the upcoming second album from Swedish purveyor of fine 80s-inspired synth pop Toby Isaksson who performs under the name of Azure Blue. Painting a breathlessly mesmerising dreamscape with entrancing vocals, gorgeous synths and gently rousing electronica, Beyond the Dreams… evokes the same calming euphoria as the equally sublime Voyage which fellow Swedes Sound of Arrows put out back in 2011. --Chartshaker

Azure Blue’s sophomore album certainly stands out from the current crowd of releases. Labelled as a pop artist, Tobias Isaksson fuels his music with electro and synthesised vibes - very different to the sort of pop music you hear over British radio waves. Isaksson had won accolades and acclaim for his debut album, and his new album is said to achieve the same success. And, to some extent, it’s unsurprising. This album is perfect for those of you who loved Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Drive’ with Ryan Gosling. That movie was stellar for many reasons; one of those reasons being the soundtrack. The soundtrack was unique and nearly every person I’ve met who has seen the film adored the musical score. This Azure Blue album is very similar. In fact, this album could easily have been used to score the movie alone. And that’s why I do enjoy it. It has a mixture of elements thrown in, ranging from being romantic to being emotionally darker. For example, “The Bitter End” might sound fairly upbeat, but the lyrics are almost juxtaposing - describing how the speaker needs time to think, even if that means he never sees the addressee ever again. Keep an ear out for “The Road I Know” and the “Sunrise”/”Sunset” tracks. They’re just a handful of the standout songs on this wonderfully crafted album. --Seesound